In 2011, the State of Oklahoma sued the Citizen Potawatomi Nation asserting the CPN had no right to sell alcohol on Sundays at tribal enterprises. Referencing a 2004 gaming compact signed by the CPN, the state of Oklahoma argued that, because the CPN violated conditions of the compact, it could revoke CPN licenses to sell alcohol through the Alcoholic Beverage …
Allotment was a process by which reservation lands held in common by a tribal community were split up and allotted to individual tribal members. The purpose of allotment, as with the 1861 treaty signed by the Potawatomi and the Dawes Act of 1887, was to undermine the legitimacy of tribal governments and open Native land to white settlement. This was …
As American expansionism pushed land-hungry Americans west, the rapid admission of former Native lands, either through outright violence or forced coercion, reignited debates about the institution of slavery as practiced by Southern-American states. In the early 19th-century, conflict erupted as slave-owning states advocated for an equal number of slave states to be admitted for every free state, leading to instances …
With war declared between the American Colonies and Britain, Potawatomi support divided geographically and economically. Aside from those exacting retribution, villages located in the vicinity of key U.S. and English military forts, such as the Detroit and St. Joseph Potawatomi, were often enticed or pressured into allying with neighboring garrisons. Additionally, communities or individuals reliant on Anglo goods for survival …
Built by Americans in 1803 in what is present day Chicago, Fort Dearborn was constructed in response to the events of the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795). Its presence served as the primary American stronghold in Great Lakes territories illegally ceded to the U.S. by Great Britain. As the War of 1812 was underway, the Potawatomi, led by Segnak, Nuscotomek, and …
The Battle of the Monongahela was one of the first major conflicts and victories for the Native-French alliance during the French and Indian War. It took place at the forks of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, near present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is said that a Potawatomi warrior dreamt and foresaw the battle. Using the dream as a battle plan, the …
With the U.S. Navy gaining control of Lake Erie and cutting of British supply lines from Canada, British Major General Henry Proctor was forced to abandon Detroit and flee north to Amherstburg, Ontario in an attempt defend Fort Malden. Camped near Fort Malden were hundreds of allied Native warriors and their families. Outnumbered three to one, Shawnee leader Tecumseh, Potawatomi …
In an effort to weaken the Nativist movement led by Tenskwatawa “The Shawnee Prophet”, his brother and warrior Tecumseh, and their field general, Potawatomi Wabeno Main Poc, Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison and nearly one thousand troops marched on the Nativist capital known as Prophetstown. Intercepting the troops and mounting a defensive counter attack were hundreds of Native warriors, …
The battle(s) of Frenchtown were a succession of conflicts, within the War of 1812, fought between the Native-British alliance and the United States. The first Battle of Frenchtown, fought on January 18, 1813, was a U.S. victory led by Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis. Upon receiving the message that Frenchtown had been recaptured by the Americans, British Brigadier General Henry Proctor …
Seeking to expand their range and broker the thriving fur trade, the Dutch-supported Iroquois engaged in one of the earliest and longest territorial conflicts with the French-allied confederated Algonquin nations. Hoping to dominate the lucrative market, the Iroquois sought to leverage their European trade relationships into territorial expansion. Armed with British and Dutch weapons, they disrupted French trade and seized …